Directors Who Never Made a Bad Movie

Every single film scored 70% or higher with audiences. These directors have a perfect track record by audience approval.

For detailed writeups on 10 standout directors, see 10 Directors Who Have Never Made a Bad Movie. This page covers a broader set of directors with the raw data.

The rules: At least 5 movies in the database, each with 500+ audience votes, and every single one scored 70% or above. One dud and you're off the list.

89.0% avg 12 films

Seven Samurai 93% Sanjuro 93% Dersu Uzala 92% High and Low 91% Ikiru 90% Yojimbo 90% The Hidden Fortress 90% Throne of Blood 89% Dreams 89% Rashomon 86% Kagemusha 85% Ran 80%

91.6% avg 12 films

Spirited Away 95% Howl's Moving Castle 95% Princess Mononoke 94% My Neighbor Totoro 94% Kiki's Delivery Service 93% Castle in the Sky 92% Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind 92% Ponyo 90% Porco Rosso 89% The Wind Rises 89% The Boy and the Heron 88% The Castle of Cagliostro 88%

Christopher Nolan

83.5% avg 12 films

Interstellar 92% The Dark Knight 92% Memento 90% Inception 87% Insomnia 87% Oppenheimer 83% The Dark Knight Rises 82% Batman Begins 82% Dunkirk 82% The Prestige 79% Following 74% Tenet 72%

83.9% avg 10 films

Some Like It Hot 90% Double Indemnity 89% Stalag 17 87% The Apartment 86% Witness for the Prosecution 86% Sabrina 84% Ace in the Hole 82% The Lost Weekend 81% Sunset Boulevard 80% The Seven Year Itch 74%

87.2% avg 9 films

The Seventh Seal 90% Wild Strawberries 88% Autumn Sonata 88% The Virgin Spring 88% Through a Glass Darkly 88% Persona 87% Cries and Whispers 87% Hour of the Wolf 86% Fanny and Alexander 83%

90.4% avg 9 films

Terminator 2: Judgment Day 95% Titanic 93% Avatar: Fire and Ash 92% The Terminator 91% True Lies 91% Aliens 90% The Abyss 90% Avatar: The Way of Water 87% Avatar 85%

Charlie Chaplin

89.9% avg 7 films

The Great Dictator 92% City Lights 92% Modern Times 90% The Kid 90% The Gold Rush 90% The Circus 88% Limelight 87%

Andrei Tarkovsky

88.1% avg 7 films

Ivan's Childhood 92% Andrei Rublev 90% Nostalgia 89% Stalker 87% Mirror 87% Solaris 86% The Sacrifice 86%

86.3% avg 7 films

The Great Mouse Detective 93% Treasure Planet 92% Aladdin 86% The Princess and the Frog 85% Moana 84% Hercules 84% The Little Mermaid 80%

Jean-Jacques Annaud

81.4% avg 7 films

Seven Years in Tibet 90% The Name of the Rose 87% Two Brothers 85% Quest for Fire 83% Enemy at the Gates 79% The Bear 76% The Lover 70%

86.0% avg 6 films

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 91% Once Upon a Time in America 88% A Fistful of Dollars 86% Duck, You Sucker 86% For a Few Dollars More 83% Once Upon a Time in the West 82%

Federico Fellini

84.7% avg 6 films

Nights of Cabiria 91% 8½ 86% I Vitelloni 86% Amarcord 84% La Strada 84% La Dolce Vita 77%

Hirokazu Kore-eda

85.8% avg 6 films

Monster 91% Nobody Knows 88% Broker 86% Shoplifters 84% Like Father, Like Son 83% Our Little Sister 83%

84.5% avg 6 films

Wolf Children 94% The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 91% The Boy and the Beast 82% Summer Wars 82% Mirai 80% Belle 78%

85.2% avg 6 films

Treasure Planet 92% Aladdin 86% The Princess and the Frog 85% Moana 84% Hercules 84% The Little Mermaid 80%

Michelangelo Antonioni

81.3% avg 6 films

La Notte 84% The Passenger 84% L'Avventura 82% L'Eclisse 82% Red Desert 79% Blow-Up 77%

Alejandro González Iñárritu

80.9% avg 7 films

The Revenant 84% Amores Perros 84% 21 Grams 83% Biutiful 82% Babel 79% Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 75%

Giuseppe Tornatore

89.4% avg 5 films

The Legend of 1900 94% Cinema Paradiso 93% The Best Offer 88% Malena 86% Baaria 86%

82.2% avg 5 films

How to Train Your Dragon 86% Lilo & Stitch 86% How to Train Your Dragon 2 84% How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 78% How to Train Your Dragon 77%

83.6% avg 5 films

The Young and the Damned 90% The Exterminating Angel 88% The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 84% Viridiana 83% Belle de Jour 73%